Muffler's Story
by Kion07
Summary: A story of a boy named Muffler who is thrown into the magical world of Viva Piñata. Feedback is appreciated!  LONG CHAPTERS!  WIP


**Chapter 1: I worked really hard on this one, so please tell me how I did!**

Smoke filled the room. A wrench was tossed high into the air, and disappeared into the dark fumes lingering at the ceiling. Muffler wiped his forehead. Sweat hid underneath his bushy bangs waiting for the perfect moment to trickle down his face, and be wiped away by his greasy fingers. Muffler swiftly took out his welding torch and placed it on the table in front of him, giving himself just enough time to reach out and snatch the wrench right out of the air on its journey to the floor. He promptly tightened a screw before shoving the wrench deep into the confines of his worn pockets. He coughed heavily, and lowered his welding helmet. As he began welding two metal parts together, he rehearsed the steps of the next procedure in his head. He knew that this would not be an easy fix.

Ever since he was a small boy, Muffler had been fixing things. When he was a mere five years old, he fashioned some makeshift needles and taught himself how to knit and sew, so that he could patch up the few clothes he owned and a couple of stuffed animals his Dad had given him. He used thread that he brought home from school. Even today, Muffler could not force himself to get rid of his stuffed animals, and kept them on a lonely, dusty old shelf next to his cot. They were, after all, the only things he had left from his Dad, who "disappeared" on Muffler's first birthday.

Muffler finished up the two pieces he was working on and moved on to the next two. He welded with ease, manipulating the torch in an almost graceful manner. He worked with much alacrity. He enjoyed his job and had near perfected it. As he finished up the second pieces, he scratched his bushy curls with his grubby nails that appeared burnt at the tips. Muffler took a step back from his work. This would be a very difficult job. Muffler's spirits were not even the least bit dampened, however, for he deeply enjoyed a good challenge.

Muffler paused to look around at the familiar surroundings. Smoke always filled the room he worked in due to clogs in the constantly billowing "smoke stacks" that rose from the factory's rooftop. Although they were simply rounded chimneys, Muffler's insane boss, Franko, often liked to boast to others that his factory had the biggest and best smoke stacks out there.

In addition to the steadily thickening smoke that haunted the room, there was a constant racket that would cause nearly anyone to go mad if they weren't in such a dire need of money as Muffler was.

A normal person would barely hear themselves think, and when finally focused, their thoughts would most likely be interrupted by the hypnotizing gears and cogs performing various tasks to help each pointless product move down the assembly line. Only Muffler's trained senses could withstand such a hellish workplace. Despite all of this, Muffler enjoyed where he worked. You could often hear him make jokes like, "It must be a miracle I'm not yet deaf!" or "Second hand smoke is the number one killer of poor teenage boys working in factories."

Muffler's thoughts were interrupted not by the noise and smoke, but by his boss's piercing voice as it rang through the room.

"MUFFLER!" the voice wailed.

Muffler cringed at the voice as one might cringe upon hearing nails on a chalkboard. Slowly, he turned to see Franko, scary as ever, looming in the doorway. His boss was a short man, and wasn't exactly the brightest, although you would never hear him admit it. He had a serious face tattooed with stress marks and wrinkles. A big, bulbous nose overshadowed his small, tight mouth which sagged down in the corners to form a frown that would stop anyone in their footsteps. On top of his chubby face sat clean, combed hair that was neatly slicked to the side in a businesslike manner. Gray streaks contrasted with the hair's natural chocolate hue, making him look much older than he really was. His round chin was accompanied by two more that shared a cozy home exactly where his neck should have rested, connecting his circular head to the rest of his circular body. His stoutness made him look like a beach ball in a suit. Muffler was forced to struggle to not laugh whenever this thought came to mind.

"I have products to sell, boy, products!" His chins wobbled up and down as he said this, as if nodding in agreement.

Muffler just rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"I'm going as quickly as possible," he said, ignoring the rudeness and anger in Franko's voice, and being as polite as he possibly could.

"I'm not paying you for your sass," Franko exclaimed, turning increasingly red every second.

Muffler simply gave up and got back to work. With Franko, the best thing to do was to ignore him.

Franko put his hands on his hips before storming out of the room as if he was late for something. Muffler had already forgotten him, however, and didn't notice any of this.

The factory he worked in was a mass producer of all manner of trivial products, but Muffler supposed that the reason so many of these things seemed trivial to him was a result of his family being terribly poor.

Muffler had gone to school until first grade. Halfway through the year he had to drop out because he and his Mother had become too poor, and since Muffler had no older or younger siblings, he had to get a job to help earn money. He started by mowing lawns.

Muffler's mind raced back to when he was only six years old and already mowing lawns for money. He would often work for an hour or two on each lawn and then move onto the next one, racking up about fifteen dollars a day. It was enough to live on, but Muffler was a growing boy, and needed food.

There was one old lady who owned a Bakery Shop, though, and she took a particular liking to Muffler. In exchange for his lawn services, she would send him home with the change from the tip jar and a few ingredients and scraps left over at the end of the day.

Muffler found himself standing still because of all the memories that were sloshing around his head like soggy clothes in a washing machine.

"Gotta get back to work!" he thought to himself. This was going to be a long day.

The next day, Muffler woke up, his back aching, and his teeth sore from the tight clenching that they endured throughout the night.

The first thing he saw was the dull ceiling that he had grown so accustomed to looking at in the late hours of the night when sleep seemed to avoid him.

After finally managing to force himself out of bed, Muffler flopped onto the floor like a pancake hitting a sizzling pan. His cat, Mittens, purred and licked his face to help him up.

Mittens could be considered husky, but not quite fat. If the cat could say anything about it, she would say she was big boned. She was an orange cat with a long tail, and a cute white face.

For a few minutes, Muffler absentmindedly stroked the cat before using his bed to lift himself up, only to plop down on it once again, sending prehistoric dust into the air.

Finally, he got up and yawned with a big stretch before wandering over to the sink.

After brushing his teeth without toothpaste, (it was too expensive) Muffler checked himself over in the mirror.

Big, bushy curls that were full of grease topped Muffler's head, but the grease was most likely caused by his workplace. When he attempted to comb the curls, it was as if his hair fought back, and his efforts always proved fruitless. Today, he just left his hair the way it was, and went on looking like he had just received an electric shock.

While tugging on a worn out shirt, Muffler looked down at his puny arm muscles. Despite the constant physical labor he had endured from the time he was a young boy, Muffler still didn't have more than a slight curve of muscle to show for it. He was also incredibly skinny and looked like he had been run over by a steam roller several times.

Muffler brushed off his tight pants that he had been wearing for far too long and slipped into them while sucking in his stomach. They were a faded blue, and in desperate need of patching.

Next, he slipped on a pair of what looked like socks, but it was hard to tell due to many holes that covered their surface. After putting on his "socks", he shoved his feet into his dirty gray sneakers, not even bothering to tie the laces that looked like they had never been touched.

Suddenly it hit him. It was his birthday today! Muffler jumped up and down in joy and turned to his mother, who was still asleep, to blow her a kiss.

Without a delay, Muffler jumped out the door and began skipping along the road to work. On the way, he stopped by the Bakery to deliver a flower from his mother's garden to the shop owner in return for a freshly brewed cup of piping hot coffee.

Muffler took a long sip. He had been getting coffee from the time he was about twelve years old. It helped him get up on those mornings when he had to work all day in the factory. He got the job there from a recommendation on his twelfth birthday.

Muffler was surprised how many things had happened to him on his birthdays. His Dad's disappearance, his job at the factory... What awaited him today, on his sixteenth birthday?

The walk to work was a short one. On the way he stumbled several times. The road was filled with potholes, and while Muffler was busy watching the sky, he forgot to avoid them. Once at work, however, he was much less clumsy, and completed each of his tasks with great swiftness. There was time to take a quick break in the hallway, so Muffler walked outside.

Rose, a sixteen year old girl who had just begun working at the factory, stood next to him and they chatted for a while. Muffler had had a minor crush on Rose since she came to the factory, so he was thrilled that she seemed to like him.

Muffler grabbed a cup of water before continuing his conversation with her.

"So you said your dad works at the antique shop?"

"He owns it, actually. He's loved antiques since he was a kid. He's collected things his whole life. What about your parents?"

Muffler got a little embarrassed. No one had ever asked him about his parents before, and nearly everyone avoided the topic of his father, as it was well known that he had disappeared a long time ago.

"Well, my mother runs the flower shop," Muffler said. Noticing that Rose didn't speak, he then added awkwardly, "My dad disappeared when I was one."

Rose immediately looked as if she regretted asking.

"I'm so sorry!" Rose exclaimed. She then put her hand on Muffler's shoulder. They looked straight at each other before blushing and looking away.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING? GET BACK TO WORK!" Franko's voice boomed through the hallway. They departed and went on working. Muffler didn't care, though. He had never had much time for dating, but Rose seemed to really like him!

So far the day was going Muffler's way. After work, he rushed home with great excitement.

What had his mother planned for him today? Maybe a special cake! Muffler's mouth watered as he thought of delicious, moist blueberry cake sliding down his throat as his mother gave him presents and Mittens snuggled up against his leg.

He skipped all the way down the road on the way home from work. Mittens sat waiting outside of Muffler's tiny shack of a home with a concerned look on her face. Muffler dismissed this and scooped her up, while entering his one-room house. Right away he knew something was wrong.

The table had a bowl of candy set on it, and the small oven shoved in the corner was still on. Muffler put Mittens down and went to go turn the oven off. He also noticed that his mother's bed wasn't made, and some pictures on the shelf next to her cot were knocked over.

Muffler's mother was nowhere to be found.

That evening Muffler couldn't get to sleep for a very long time. He spent the majority of the night having nightmares. Each time he would see his mother being chased down a street by two strange, scary men both dressed in a blood red. One had a twisted face, and the other carried a large stick. Muffler ran after his mother. "Wait, wait!" he kept crying out. His mother didn't turn around. Muffler felt weighed down. He was too slow. The men were advancing on him!

After waking up, drenched in sweat, Muffler decided he had to take action.

He would stop at nothing to find his mother. Not only was she the only family he had, but she was the person who brought him up and nurtured him through his childhood, and the only one who had ever shown him any love. Muffler couldn't afford to lose another parent.

After the long, sleepless night, an exhausted Muffler began preparing to go search for his mother. He resolved to spend the day gathering supplies for the trip.

Muffler forced himself out of bed and stretched. He wanted so badly to go back to his warm, welcoming bed, but he knew he mustn't. This was more important. He ignored his heavy eyelids begging him to get back in bed, and got to work.

First, he decided to fetch the lantern from the old shed in his backyard. He picked up Mittens and walked around the side of the house. Immediately upon entering the shed Muffler sneezed causing Mittens to leap out of his arms in surprise. There was a thick layer of dust covering the interior of the shed, except in the corner where his mother kept her gardening supplies.

Muffler gazed around the dark, musty shed. The sun wasn't completely up yet, so the dim light entering the room through the shed window was barely enough to see. Muffler strained his eyes and finally he spotted the old lantern atop a shelf close to the ceiling. Muffler stretched his arm out to reach it, but it was no use; he was simply too short. He instead had to pick up a bucket and flip it upside down. He used it as a stool and then was able to reach the lantern.

Unfortunately, an underestimation of the lantern's weight caused Muffler to come crashing down painfully onto his old fashioned lawn mower that used pure physical power. He sat there for a moment before regaining his strength before getting up.

The next step was to pack some food. Muffler grabbed the bowl of candy his mother had left on the table, and a canteen. After filling up the canteen with tap water, he started to boil the water so that it would be clean. Muffler knew that he would need plenty of food and water if the trip was going to be a long one. After grabbing every supply available from the cabinets, he made several sandwiches, and then sealed them in some bags lying around.

Mittens purred loudly, reminding Muffler to grab all the cat food he could find and stuff it into a bag. Muffler also packed several cans of vegetables and soup and some bottled water.

Finally, Muffler grabbed all the money he could find and decided to go shopping. He only had around twenty dollars in total, but he knew that he would have to use it in order to have enough food to last him for more than a week.

First, he stopped by the bakery on the way to the grocery store. The bakery was a small, brightly painted building with a large roof that was reminiscent of the top of a giant cupcake. As Muffler entered, a little bell rang at the door and the store keeper, Madame Puffet looked up from behind the counter. She was a short woman, and somewhat plump. She desperately needed her glasses and was always seen with a pink apron on.

"Muffler! What a pleasant surprise!" She exclaimed. Muffler hadn't been to visit in ages.

Muffler strolled up to the counter, his mouth watering. On display was every kind of sweet imaginable. A buffet of desserts beyond Muffler's wildest dreams sat there taunting him with their perfectly frosted exteriors and dreamy sugary fillings.

"Hi, Madame Puffet," Muffler said, trying to look at her instead of the desserts.

"How can I help you dear?"

"Well I am going away for a while and I needed some food for the trip."

"Well why didn't you say so?" Madame Puffet went through a door and then reappeared with three loaves of bread and a batch of cupcakes. "They're on me, darling," she said.

Muffler was speechless. "You really don't have to do that!"

"Nonsense! You deserve it of all people."

After arguing a bit more with her, Muffler finally gave in and set off towards the grocery mart, still marveling at the woman's generosity.

Once at the grocery mart, Muffler went up and down the aisles getting as much as twenty dollars could buy. Considering that he had only a first grade education, Muffler was very good at math. While wheeling his cart full of food over to the checkout counter, he spotted Rose standing in line, and jumped in line behind her.

"Hi Rose," he said shyly.

"Hello Muffler. I thought you said you worked on the weekends."

"Well, I'm going away for a while."

Rose looked surprised at this. "Oh... Well... I hope it goes well!" Rose looked away sadly and then moved up in line.

Muffler thought it could have gone smoother, but it still meant that Rose must like him a little bit.

Muffler left the store with his spirits up and returned home. Mittens awaited him at the door.

The rest of the day was spent packing all of the supplies into a backpack. This only took about fifteen minutes. After that, Muffler went to bed extra early. He would need his sleep for the following day when he would set off.

That night, Muffler has dreams again, but this time they were pleasant. He dreamt of things like the dessert buffet and Rose and finding his mother.

The next morning Muffler woke up bright and early. "Time to go," he muttered sleepily to himself. He grabbed Mittens and his backpack, and set off.


End file.
